The Odd Couple
by Spark Vallen
Summary: Luke Skywalker's vision sends Jedi Knight Pharinseaya across the galaxy to find an apprentice of the most unlikely sort. (EU OC)
1. Chapter 1

The Odd-Couple  
--sparkvallen

Disclaimers: Naturally, I am not George Lucas so I don't have any rites to the idea of Jedi, Star Wars or any locations mentioned that come out of his universe. Hehe.Chapter OneWith a flick of the wrist, the hydrospanner arced toward the human. She didn't even look up, but instead just extended her right hand, palm out. The tool landed with a smack into her hand and she continued her repairs on the speederbike without hesitation.

It had been a long day in the insufferable heat and humidity at Wingnut's Garage. Rym Svoby had been toiling with the 'bike for nearly eleven hours, putting the separated parts and accessories back together in such a way that it would run again. Only when the repairs were so difficult that even she was stymied, Rym muttered an ancient Correlian curse she'd heard her grandmother use in her youth, then she'd return to her work from a fresh angle. Otherwise, the woman worked in the grimy conditions in silence.

The speederbike's damage was a result of a very destructive crash that had sent its rider, a young and brash Rodian, slamming onto the roof of the cantina he'd just left. Rym had heard about all the ensuing chaos when the drunken patrons had thought the planet was under bombardment in their stupor. The teen's father had had the wreckage sent to Wingnut's in the hopes that he or his staff could make the 'bike viable again. It was his hope that the med center could repair his son as well.

Rym sighed loudly and leaned away from the partially re-built 'bike to sit in a crouched position. She wiped her hands on her already soiled tunic, then pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "The rest of this mess has gotta wait," she said to herself. "I can't see straight no more."

Standing up, she weaved her way around the wide variety of junk and supplies (more junk than supplies) that filled the garage bay, making her way to the office. Everyone else was long gone, having either completed or given up on their repair projects hours earlier. Rym was grateful for their absence; had they been around, she never would've used the telekinesis trick to get the hydrospanner from the tool chest. She'd learned in childhood not to use some of her skills. That only led to stares and questions. And potential trouble, as her grandmother had warned her.

With her greasy hands, she procured a scrap of paper and wrote a note for Wingnut:

_Worked on 'bike 'til I had to stop. It's about 3/4 finished now. Will be in after 10 planetary hrs. to finish it up. Don't let Spyder touch my hydrospanner if he gets here before me. _

_--Rym_

She placed the note prominently with its new grease stains and left the shop. Rym heard the door auto-lock itself after the snap-hiss of its closing.

Wingnut's Garage was located on the fringe of Coronet City, in what had once been part of the _original _city but was now the home of the seedier elements in the metropolis. Knowing the potential dangers that existed, especially for a female, Rym melded with the shadows and dodged the glaring light left by the glow lamps that still worked. If all went well, it was ten minutes walk to get to the room she rented in the cheap tenement building. If she were delayed, it would take eleven minutes; the low-life population seldom slowed Rym Svoby down.

Her stomach rumbled over the roar of a high-powered swoop that sped past her. _OK_,_ food would be a good thing 'bout now_, she thought. It would only be a slight detour in her night's plans to stop to eat.

"The usual?"

"The ususal," Rym replied, without looking up at the night-shift waitress. Rym thought she was called Merc, but she couldn't be sure. She settled into the booth with her back against the wall rather than the seat back, so she could look out into the cantina. It was quiet thus far but she didn't want to be caught off-guard.

The nerf-burger, she knew, would only take six-and-a-half minutes to prep and serve. Rym was well-aware that nothing here was served fresh. The food sat in its holding station under a warmer until some poor fool finally ordered. She didn't care. She just wanted her food and to get out.

Later, she'd think it amazing how many things could go wrong in six-and-a-half minutes.

"Lot of activity going on 'round here," said a silky male voice. He slid into the booth seat across from her.

"Not interested."

"Someone with your skills could be pretty useful..."

Rym knew the routine by rote. Every other evening, some gang banger was trying to tempt her, to bring her on board as their personal mechanic. Much like the Rodian's speederbike she'd been working on, the street gangs were rough on their vehicles. And she knew from experience living in that part of Coronet City that it just wasn't feasible for them to bring their stolen 'bikes and swoops to Wingnut's.

"Not interested."

"Someone with your skills could be a powerful enemy of ours too, with those talents in the wrong hands," he continued.

"Not if I keep doing what I'm already doin', where I always worked," she countered in an icy tone.

"We'll be watching you. Closely."

Under her breath, she muttered, "Whatever, Sithspawn..." as all hell broke loose.

Svoby ducked instinctively into the booth as glass, steel and duracrete came crashing into the cantina. She heard the screams of surprise and hurt as those at the bar as they were pummeled by the blast. Her wild, untrained intuitive sense gave her a picture of four loud, and Spice-high teens climbing through the rubble and making their way over the bodies to the bar and the safe.

"Yeehah!" one whooped loudly, confirming her vision.

_So much for the nerf-burger_.

The feedback of blaster fire made her cringe. She wondered if it was the bar's owner, the cook who was likely packing or the drug-wasted kids that were doing the firing? Rym pulled her comlink from her belt and keyed it to the Emergency Services system. She didn't dare talk even when the droid dispatcher came online; she could only hope its software was sensitive enough to pick up the chaos in the cantina and interpret that as danger. With them being high on Spice, Rym also didn't want to try to take them on herself.

Using her intuitive sense to keep tabs on the teens, Rym began plotting her own escape. If they operated like the usual novice thugs, they'd also rifle the bodies for any bounty. Still tucked into the privacy of the booth, Rym scanned the damaged ceiling for ideas. Drawing on her telekinetic powers once again, she wrenched a steam vent free of its already-weakened hold and sent the vent and burning gas toward the would-be thieves.

_The perfection diversion. Creativity points for you, kid_.

As the steam hit the teens, they shouted in surprise. Rym took advantage of the distraction to dash along the perimeter of the booth-seating toward the hold they'd left in the side of the building. Her adrenaline pumping, Svoby skittered back into the gloom of the night as she heard the approaching sirens of the Emergency Services security team. Evidently the comlink trick had worked, or some other innocent had called the authorities from the outside.

Rym had no intention of remaining to give a statement or to even make sure that the teens were apprehended. Events such as these were just a regular part of the nightlife in her neighborhood of Coronet City, Correlia. Getting involved proved nothing except that you had a death wish. Whether or not those four were incarcerated meant little in the grand scheme of Rym Svoby's life.


	2. Chapter 2

The Odd-Couple  
--sparkvallen  
  
Disclaimers: Same as before. I'm not Lucas nor am I Lucasfilm. You get the idea. ;)Chapter Two"So... you hear dat somebody knocked'over Merc's place last night?"

"Yeah, sumfin' about a robbery. Heard the ES'ers got there first. Some anony—anonymo... somebody commed the ES and didn't leave no message but they could trace where it was comin' from," Spyder finally managed to say.

Rym listened without comment as Wingnut and Spyder gossiped over last evening's adventure. After escaping Merc's Cantina, she had collapsed onto the sleep couch in her one-room apartment and fell into a restless sleep.

"What we need're more Jedi floatin' 'round dees parts, eh, Rym?"

She peeked her head out from beneath the speederbike and frowned at Wingnut. "'ever you say, Boss."

Wingnut and his other mechanics knew that discussing anything related to the resurgence of Jedi in the galaxy was a sore spot for Svoby. No one knew exactly _why _such conversation irritated her, but they did understand it was the best way to get her riled up for show.

"Maybe they'd take you wiff them on some adventure, Rym," Spyder suggested with a wink.

"Couldn't have that," she shot back. "Wingnut'd be left with just your lousy mechanic skills around here? Hah!" She slid back under the bike to continue replacing the damaged balance controls.

"Hey!"

"Now, now," Wingnut said in his grating voice. "Don't want either of you flippin' out on me. Gots work to do, ya know?" He paused a moment before adding, "Word's on de Holonet though dat ders some Jedi gonna be comin' here."

"To Coronet City?"

Rym shook her head. There were _always _rumors like that floating about. Not usually on the Holonet, but still... "Prob'ly just some stupid rumor," she snapped as she forced the balance control's casing back into its place. "Hear 'em all the time."

"On the 'net?" Wingnut challenged.

"Well..."

"Why'd they announ—anno... why'd they say they're gonna come? Not very secret mission if they're tellin' us like dat," Spyder managed.

"Scare tactic," the boss replied, as though he had any idea the Jedi Order's motives. To Rym, he asked, "You done with dat 'bike _yet_?"

Svoby slid out from under the speederbike and quickly stood. "As a matter of fact, I am." She dusted her hands off. "Just gotta crank 'er up and see that she runs."

"OUTSIDE!"

"Sithspit, I _know_ that," she snapped back at him.

Rym fired up the 'bike on its standby mode just to test and make sure the repulsors worked. Seeing that that at least was successful, she gingerly guided the 'bike out of the open bay door and out in front of the garage. Svoby took a deep breath then climbed aboard the speederbike. Each time she made a major overhaul like this, she silently prayed that her work was accurate. If not, she'd go flying as far as the unlucky Rodian kid had.

The 'bike fired up without so much as a sputter, its over-powered engine roaring.

With a rare smile, she shut down the engine and climbed off. Already, she was counting on what sort of tip she might earn from the Rodian family for finishing ahead of schedule.

"Greetings," came a female voice that was firm yet soothing, just behind her.

Rym spun around, the hydrospanner flying unconsciously into her hand from the tool belt. It wasn't much of a weapon, but instincts were instincts. Her hand dropped to her side as she stared back at the woman, several inches shorter than her with deep, intense brown eyes and dark hair. She was garbed in shades of blue, the outermost layer being a dark blue robe.

"Um. Hey," she said after a moment.

"Do you always greet people with a ready weapon in hand?" the fellow human woman asked. She smiled and nodded toward the hydrospanner than Svoby gripped.

"In this part of town, ya bet I do." Rym had immediate suspicions about this woman. It wasn't _normal_ for a woman to be well-dressed and traveling this part of Coronet City alone, much less on foot. She saw no transport in the vicinity.

The woman nodded.

"So, I take it you lost yer ride or somethin'?" Rym guessed. "Not many show up here without a 'bike or landspeeder..."

"Actually, I'm looking for a guide. Someone who knows the city well—"

Svoby was already tuning her out again, thinking back to how much she could make if Wingnut handed off one of his personal jobs to her.

"—who is looking to earn a fair reward for their services."

"What's a 'fair reward' to you?" she asked, leaning against the speederbike.

"Oh, _now _you're interested," the stranger teased. "A hefty some of New Republic credits and maybe a bonus of some sort later."

Rym persisted. "How _hefty_ is hefty to someone like you? And what kinda bonus?"

"I believe you're just who I'm looking for," the woman said. "Why don't you just trust that I'll make it worth your while."

_Trust you_, she thought. _Yeah. And you are...?_

"You're probably wondering who I am, actually," she said knowingly. "Pharinseaya is what I'm called."

Svoby gave her a dubious look. Struggling to repeat the name, she managed, "Far-as-I-can-see-ya?"

"Close. More like fair-in-sea-ya. My parents had an unusual sense for pronunciation," she said with a light shrug. "And you are?"

"Svoby. Rym Svoby." She looked hard at Pharinseaya then the speederbike and finally toward the dim interior of Wingnut's Garage. "OK, look. I can't be takin' you nowheres as a tour guide 'til I get off my shift. You got credits or not, I got to earn my wage here too. Cuz one day you'll be outta here and I need to stay on Wingnut's good side. As if he had one."

"Fair enough," Pharinseaya agreed. "Why don't we meet when its convenient for you then?"

"When it's--?"

"When is a good time for you," she asked patiently.

"Oh, 'bout 1600 hours would be OK," Svoby said after a moment's thought.

"Alright then. We'll meet over supper. Sound good? Why don't we meet in the bazaar uptown a bit?" Pharinseaya suggested.

_Uptown? Well, she gots some sense about her..._ "OK. I can get there, sure. It's awfully busy up there though, ya know..."

"I'm confident we'll find each other," she said with a wink.

"OK. Deal." Rym turned back to the speederbike and began guiding the hovering vehicle back toward the garage bay. Looking around her, the woman was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

The Odd-Couple  
--sparkvallen

If you didn't realize by now, I don't own anything directly SW-related. ;) Lucas does.

**Chapter Three**

Pharinseaya walked quickly toward the open market, walking as though she were heedless of whatever dangers could come out of nowhere in the seedier area of Coronet City. She strode purposefully, her hands tucked into her dark blue robe, her eyes focused straight though she took in every detail of life around her. Once she has reached the bustling area of commerce uptown, Pharinseaya allowed herself to find somewhere to sit so that she could reflect on her mission thus far.

_Master Skywalker sure has a strange idea of Jedi Missions_, was her first thought.

His meeting with her on Yavin IV had been enigmatic, at best. Luke Skywalker, the most experienced of the Jedi at the Academy and perhaps in the galaxy at all, had summoned her to his quarters within the Massassi Temple one morning shortly after the youngest students had cleaned the mess hall, a process in which Pharinseaya normally served as supervisor for. The newest to become a Jedi Knight there, Pharinseaya hadn't begun to explore her niche in the fledgling Order and seemed – at present – to be content with the small duties she performed around the Temple, making sure things ran smoothly as a facility.

She was surprised to be requested in a meeting with Luke and had prepared herself as best she could, though having no idea what he might say.

"Pharinseaya, it's good that you could come," he said after returning her formal bow. "Please, come in and sit with me."

She smiled, seeing that he had no chairs in his office, only simple mats. Gingerly, she lowered herself to the floor as Skywalker did. "I'm honored by the invitation to speak with you," she replied.

He returned the smile. "I'd like to share with you a vision I had, Pharinseaya."

"OK, Master Skywalker."

"Please. You can call me Luke now. We are equals."

"Hardly!" Pharinseaya laughed. "You're... _Master _Skywalker! You're..."

"I put my tunic and pants on the same way you do, believe me," he countered her with a wink.

She flushed red. "OK... Luke."

"I had a vision last night that centered around you. Tell me how this resonates with you." Skywalker paused a moment, closing his eyes to bring the vision back to crystal clarity in his mind. "I see Coronet City, Corellia at first. Bustling as it often is. But I also see a certain need for a Jedi presence. Not trouble _exactly_, but a need for Jedi presence."

Pharinseaya listened intently.

"There's a mission to be accomplished there and I see you with _someone_, a guide of some sort. The two of you are meant to do something together. The mission will become clear once you've found this guide."

As he re-opened his eyes, they locked gazes. "I'm not sure I understand. I mean... well yes, I do understand, Master—Luke. But, the vision seems rather vague."

"The Force works in mysterious ways," he replied. "How does this resonate with you?"

Pharinseaya frowned, forcing herself to push aside the complacency she felt at remaining on Yavin IV. "I normally do better with explicit instructions or guidelines," she admitted. "But, who am I to question a vision _you _would have concerning me?"

"The very person who _should _be questioning such a vision," he said.

She sighed at the rebuke. _He refuses to be put in the position he belongs! _she thought. To his initial question of how it resonated with her, Pharinseaya replied, "It sounds interesting in its own strange way. When would you want me to begin this mission?"

"Whenever you feel comfortable," Luke replied vaguely.

Pharinseaya gave him an exasperated smile.

"It was my vision but concerning your journey as a Jedi Knight, Pharinseaya. Therefore, it's up to you to pursue it when the timing is right."

"Yes, _Luke_. Thank you. I'll do some research then on Coronet City and will inform you when I'm ready."

"Good, that sounds wise." He winked.

Pharinseaya brought her mind back to the present, watching the Corellians as they traded and bartered with the fellow citizens and visitors to the planet. The market was mobbed with people. Watching them, she considered her arrival to Corellia and the strong pull she'd felt toward – of all places – Wingnut's Garage.

She had purposely taken a public transport to the outskirts terminal for Coronet City. That much _had _been under Pharinseaya's control. Having had no luck in obtaining a ferry around the city to at least travel had not been in her plans. The clerk had explained the shortage of vehicles as being related to some sporting event elsewhere. So, she had proceeded slowly on foot, taking in the ambience of the city in all its splendor.

Wingnut's Garage just happened to be along the path she walked.

Seeing the fellow female's aura of Force sensitivity glimmering around her in a wide arc, Pharinseaya instinctly knew she'd found the person that Luke had suggested she was there to meet. She was certain of that much. Rym's attitude did surprise her a little, but she could chalk that up to her living conditions.

_But what am I supposed to do **now**?_ she wondered.

When 1600 hours came and went, Pharinseaya had convinced herself that her intuition was wrong. Rym Svoby wasn't the person she was destined to find after all; she was merely a mechanic who had a natural Force aptitude, but not the key to the Jedi Knight's mission.

And then she slid silently into the seat next to Pharinseaya.

"Sorry for keepin' ya waitin'. Ran into some trouble with the 'rents of the Rodian kid who'd smashed up that speederbike." Rym shrugged. "Some people. They don't understand what service's all about."

"Nice to see you again too, Rym," Pharinseaya said with a wink. "I'm glad to see you here. I almost didn't think you were going to show."

"Jes' busy is all. So what's this all 'bout? You want me to be a tour guide?"

_Straight and to the point_, Pharinseaya thought. She thought a moment, searching for the right words to approach their situation. "Rym, how do I begin? I suppose I should be as straight with you as I can. If you didn't realize, I'm a Jedi Knight and—"

"WHAT?" Svoby nearly fell out of her chair.

"Oh, well, you didn't know that then. OK."

Rym's guard went up. "Yer Jedi and you just – what? – failed to _remember_ to say that?"

"Is my life's vocation a problem?" Pharinseaya asked.

"Then you _knew _all 'bout _me_ _before_ you even talked at me, didn't ya?" she said with her eyes narrowed.

Pharinseaya kept her voice level. "You mean about the fact that you're Force sensitive?" She shrugged. "I saw you levitate the 'spanner to your hand, sure. How long have you been working on your skills? You seem pretty fine tuned, if you don't mind my saying so."

"Long enough," was the distant reply. "Look. If you aren't gonna be needin' a tour guide for real, I gots stuff to do. Sorry."

"Wait," Pharinseaya said.

Rym halted in mid-step. "What."

"Can we at least talk? I'll lay out for you why I'm here, why I ended up seeking you out... Then, if you still feel you have better things to do, you can move on."

She frowned then sat back down.

"Thank you," the Jedi said. "Now, listen. I'm not here to try and convert you, preach to you or anything else you might imagine, Rym. I was sent to Corellia on a mission by Master Skywalker based on a vision he—"

"Phary-see-ya, you _know _Luke Skywalker?" she interrupted. Rym was unable to restrain herself as much as she was unable to pronounce the Jedi's name correctly.

"Knowing him, since he's one of the few instructors, is sort of a given." Pharinseaya grinned.

"That's incredible. I'll be a Bantha shepherd before I ever know him."

"Anyway, it was a result of sharing his vision with me that led me to Corellia. Master Skywalker said that I was meant to find someone and in working with this person, the mission itself would begin," she went on. "Yes, I did sense you to be a Force sensitive and that – to me, at least – seemed like a sign that you might be the person I was meant to find here."

"Uh-huh. So, are you thinkin' that I'm 'sposed to have some magical thing to say to ya? What happens now?" Rym wanted to know.

"_That _is exactly what I was wondering," Pharinseaya admitted.

And that was when part of the casino some four blocks up the densely packed street exploded.


	4. Chapter 4

The Odd-Couple  
--sparkvallen

_Disclaimers: The same as on previous chapter headings... I only sort've own Rym as I created her. Pharinseaya is on loan as it were from Sapharin and anything SW-related belongs to George Lucas!_

**Chapter Four**

"There's your answer!" Rym shouted over the wailing sirens and screaming, pushing people around her.

"Let's go," Pharinseaya yelled back. "We might be able to help with rescues!"

As the Jedi began to wind her way through the crowd of either fleeing or frozen dumb sentients, Rym hesitated. _I never get involved... no way, no how. But this Jedi... she's gonna. And she's payin' me to be her guide or somethin'. What do I do?_

Her hands bunched into fists, Svoby darted into the chaos after Pharinseaya, struggling against the sea of bodies to catch up with her.

The closer they came to the wreckage site, they had to cover their mouths with their sleeves to keep from inhaling air-borne debris. Rym strapped on her pair of safety goggles that she'd accidentally kept on her utility belt from the garage to help her eyes in the dust. Through the haze and ensuing chaos, she could see that the Jedi was also carrying goggles for a case like this.

Pharinseaya had made her way to what was going to be the central location for the rescue efforts, set up by Emergency Services. Rym stood awkwardly and nervously at her side as she caught an officer's attention.

"My name is Pharinseaya. I'm a Jedi Knight. My app... My associate and I would like to offer our services, anywhere we might be needed."

Rym noted that she was almost referred to as Pharinseaya's _apprentice_. Cold chills ran up and down her spine despite the warmth of the day and her own nervous energy. She didn't know if she was excited or frightened by the near mis-speak.

"...then thank the Force for you two," the officer was saying. "We're short-handed as it is and are trying to pull people from the sporting arena. But what matters most is you're here." He pointed them to the building schematic on the datapad on the hunk of duracrete turned into the makeshift workstation. "Here's a floor-by-floor plan of this wing of the casino. 'Course, now all twelve stories on this end o' the building are what you see before you."

Pharinseaya and Rym nodded.

"We're obviously gonna need people who can search and dig through what's left of the building here to rescue anyone who might've survived the blast. With your Jedi skills, I'm sure you can help find the living in there."

The Jedi Knight looked to the mechanic with a silent question.

"I can sense people," Rym whispered. "In fact, I feel their screamin' in my mind. Now." She shut her eyes as though that would block out the suffering she sensed.

Quickly, the Emergency Services offered added, "If you find anyone, comm. Beta345 and that'll bring the stretcher teams along. We've setup a makeshift infirmary over there—"He pointed down the block to a hastily built tent, then said, "—and for anyone who didn't make it... they're settin' up a morgue down the block the opposite way."

"May the Force be with you," Pharinseaya said to the officer before they turned to face the daunting task before them. "You OK, Rym?"

"I'm OK. Let's get doin'."

As far out as they were still from the blast area, the two women had only to climb around the chunks of duracrete and other building materials that had flown that far. They carefully navigated the rubble to get closer to the small band of crews that had already arrived to help.

Working in silence, Rym and Pharinseaya paired up initially, using their Force sense to locate a living victim of the explosion. Pharinseaya used her healing skills to assess the person as best she could and soothe their minds as Rym used her telekinetic strength to gingerly lift the heavy façade and durasteel beams away from the fallen.

The first whom they rescued was a tourist to Coronet City, a towering Wookiee whose limbs had been shattered when the steel came crashing down on him. Still somehow lucid despite his pain, the Wookiee growled his thanks to the Jedi pair. Given the nature of their assistance, many of the persons recovered assumed they were both Jedi. Rym had to block out their thanks altogether in order to keep working, so uncomfortable was she with the label.

Hours passed. Pharinseaya and Rym continued their back-breaking work until the younger woman's control of the Force began to waver.

"Let's take a break, Rym. Before we wear ourselves out."

"No. Too many people in there still," she argued. "I can't stop while they're hurtin' in there!"

"We'll go back to it, believe me," the Jedi urged. She drew on the Force slightly to add more persuasion.

Svoby hesitated. "Just for a moment then. Just for a moment."

As they made their way to the relief station, they were finally aware of how many rescue teams – both civilian and professional – had helped in the relief efforts. Rym was stunned to see so many of the locals involved in a way; most maintained the attitude she had of "not getting involved."

Canteens of water had been provided for the rescue workers. The two women sat down on a chunk of duracrete to relax for a moment and replenish their bodies with liquid.

"So, where might you've been today had I not shown up at Wingnut's?" Pharinseaya asked with a wink.

"Not here, I'll admit to that much..." She looked back and surveyed the damage. "Somebody hit the place with some real heavies... Wonder if it was to prove somethin' or what? Or if somebody was after somebody else... that happens a lot."

Pharinseaya nodded. She too wondered what the larger picture was with the tragedy. Looking at Rym, she thought that a direct compliment would make her uncomfortable. Instead, she said, "When we go back out, if you need a break from the TK, we can switch duties for a while. If you need."

"Nah, I'm 'right for now. It's what I'm best at anyway..." Svoby sighed. "Bothers me that there's so many people who got hurt who prolly had nothing to do with this at all."

"I know what you mean."

"I wonder if this's the mission Luke Skywalker thought you was gonna be on here?"

"It just might be..." she mused.

"Look. They're bringin' in spotlights so we can keep workin'," Rym noted, watching a crew guiding the repulsorsleds over the rough terrain. _Can't believe my own ears at what I'm sayin'... Jedi's rubbing off on me..._


	5. Chapter 5

The Odd Couple  
--sparkvallen

(All the usual disclaimers apply!)

Chapter Five

The Jedi and the mechanic worked until they were forced off the job by a second crew of search and rescue workers. Pharinseaya consulted with the Emergency Services team in order to learn more about the disaster. Who had caused it? Why? Had anyone taken credit for the explosion?

"...that information is confidential..." was all she'd heard from each officer she'd polled. Despite her status as a Jedi Knight in the rescue efforts, they were blocking all information from leaking. She returned to where Rym Svoby had agreed to wait, on the fringe of the rescue workers' tents.

"No luck, huh? Not surprised at that. Told you they keep their thoughts tighter than a drum... don't want no information sneakin' out to the wrong people," Rym said.

Pharinseaya nodded, gazing out at the rubble. She knew that the search crews had recovered nearly 100 people injured but alive. It was a success. But there was so much debris still, so many wounded who were trapped.

"I'm going to check in with Master Skywalker," she announced. "I'm sure he's heard about the tragedy. Maybe he'd have information somehow."

However, the comlink signals were jammed with the ensuing chaos of the terrorist attack. She couldn't get a connection offworld with so many onplanet and off trying to reach family and friends. With a sigh, Pharinseaya replaced the comlink into her belt.

"Now what?"

"I guess we rest."

Rym studied the Jedi a moment. "You can stay at my place... if ya want. It ain't nothing fancy and its pretty small but... I guess you don't have anywhere else, do ya?"

"That's very gracious of you, Rym," Pharinseaya replied. "I'm certain your home would be more than fine."

She shrugged. "Ya know what? I jes' realized that I missed work what with helpin' out here at the rescue site. Wingnut prolly had a _fit_. A total fit. I wonder if I'm fired?"

Pharinseaya noted that the mechanic didn't seem too troubled about that eventuality. Rather, she seemed bemused by the prospect of being unemployed. Rym was a mystery to her in many ways. Not feeling certain how to respond, she remained quiet.

"Ah well... let's go and get some shut eye or somethin'. They won't let us do more here for now anyway..."

"Lead the way."

* * *

The apartment she kept was a tiny studio. There was barely enough room for Rym to live from day-to-day let alone have a guest. Pharinseaya insisted that the space was more than adequate. Unbeknownst to Svoby, the Jedi had grown up in conditions not much better prior to transitioning into her present life. They each used the 'fresher, individually, to wash away the grit and dust from the rescue site, then collapsed on the sleep couch and on a pile of blankets.

Rym, however, could not fall asleep on the narrow sleep couch. Too much had happened in the past 36 hours. She kept thinking of meeting Pharinseaya, Jedi Knight outside Wingnut's. She thought about her agreement to meet her and serve as a paid guide. The explosion and the following hours digging through rubble for surviviors...

"Y'awake?"

"I'm awake, yes," Pharinseaya replied.

Svoby sat up on her sleep couch and leaned her back against the wall, her legs folded beneath her. "There's no goin' back now for me, is there?"

She heard the Jedi sit up and shift to get more comfortable despite how effortlessly the woman moved. "What do you mean?"

Rym made a face and stared out in the darkness of the apartment. "I mean... Sithspit, I got _involved_. I _never_ get _involved_. Hazardous to yer health to do so 'round here. Jes' before you came, I was involved in a bombing.. a restaurant got attacked by some robbers. I got m'self out but I made sure to not get involved. And now look what I done."

"You did do the right thing, Rym. If you're doubting that at all..." Pharinseaya said gently. "You made a difference to a lot of suffering beings at the site, you know."

"I think my life got... comp... complicated when you walked up on me at Wingnut's." She wasn't accusatory, but there was a definite edge to her voice. "I jes' fixed all kinds of speeders and got by, ya know? And now... I think that it's all changin'. I ain't too sure about this."

Pharinseaya nodded in the dark. "Being a Force sensitive, you have the opportunity for a larger life."

"And since I got _involved_, I just put m'self into that life, didn't I?"

"Perhaps. Not all helpful people become Jedi, Force sensitive or not," she replied. "It's a way of life and a 'calling' you might say. Is it something you'd be interested in?"

"I dunno. I not thought I'd get involved."

"That's the main thing for you, isn't it?"

Rym looked down at her knees. "Yeah."

Pharinseaya waited. "May I ask why?"

"No."

Svoby thought about growing up Force sensitive in a galaxy that was post-Clone Wars. Where the Jedi were exterminated and only slowing making resurgence with the Empire's reign ended. Rym had learned to exercise her Force skills with extreme caution, still feeling the fear of having such power that so many did not have. Life in the Corellia slums was made easier by quick judgments and use of her natural telekinetic skill in quiet. But to use it to help others and be _involved _went against all the rules she'd made for herself as far as survival was concerned.

Eventually, she said, "I gotta find out if I still have a job... I gotta let Wingnut know where I was so he don't fire me."

"I see," was the Jedi Knight's quiet reply.

"You don't think I _know _what you mean by that?" Rym shouted suddenly. "You... tryin' to recruit me as Jedi or somethin'! I _can't_! I... I'm jes' a mechanic. I was jes' gonna be yer tour guide 'round here. I wasn't looking to get involved."

Pharinseaya remained silent.

"Sithspit. This is crazy. I'm goin' to sleep," she snapped.

* * *

Pharinseaya listened as Rym's breathing finally slowed down to an easy sleeping respiration. Her own thoughts had mirrored her hostess' as far as the questions of Jedi training were concerned. She had to wonder if this was what Luke's vision had entailed: finding an apprentice?

_I so badly wanted to say to her: life has its own way of deciding when we get involved, when the time is right_, she thought. _But did I dare? No._

Becoming a Jedi had hardly been a walk through the New Republic's Arboretum for her, so it was easy to relate to Rym's hesitancy at taking such a large step.

_She did so well at the rescue site,_ she thought. _Rym's a natural... she got right involved all right. She'd but need to learn more control over all her skills, and to learn the Code... I know she could do it. If... if she wanted to._

Pharinseaya couldn't help but wonder when Rym had re-focused on her job at Wingnut's if that meant she was backing out on the rescue efforts. Once she began to think about her old life, the good work she'd done had taken a backseat.

The Jedi forced herself into a meditative sleep. Whether or not Rym returned to the rescue site to help, she would. Not knowing what Skywalker's vision exactly entailed, Pharinseaya could only move forward by her own accord.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Odd Couple**  
--sparkvallen 

All the usual disclaimers apply! And thank you for reading!

**Chapter Six**

Pharinseaya awoke to an empty apartment. Rym was gone. She felt her own frustrations rise to the surface and simmer for several minutes before finally letting them go. Being irritated at Rym and her decisions wouldn't help the relief efforts at the casino nor her own well-being. Pharinseaya knew that the mechanic would've gone back to Wingnut's to plead for her job.

She made her way to the casino disaster site alone.

The rescue crews had done an amazing amount of rescue and recovery in the night, she saw. The area where she and Rym had worked had been cleared of debris completely. The crews had moved much closer now to the expected blast center. There, the focus was much more on recovering bodies and evidence.

She pitched in silently, helping move heavy debris through her Force powers when mechanical equipment was unavailable or couldn't accurately reach the location. Pharinseaya helped sense out the weak and dying so that they could be rescued before it was too late. She threw herself into her work, hoping to put Rym Svoby out of her mind entirely.

* * *

Rym had arrived at Wingnut's before the owner himself had put in an appearance. Through the windows, she could see that another bike had been crashed and was in need of repair. She could also see Spyder's work-in-progress lying in pieces on the stained floor. To Rym, the familiarity of Wingnut's was suddenly gone. The building looked uninviting and "flat" to her eyes. The work area seemed foreign.

She puzzled over this for several minutes before Wingnut himself arrived on his swoop.

"Whacha doin' lurkin' der, Rym? Didn't ya hear I fired yer lousy, lazy butt yesterday?" he said, spotting her seated on the edge of the porch.

"Fired me?"

"Ya heard me. G'on. Get outta here."

"But Wingnut... why? Ya don't even know where I was yesterday, do ya?" she protested.

He pushed past her to enter the office. Rym followed closely before the door could whisk shut, leaving her outside.

"I don't care wheres ya were yesterday. Ya weren't at work and that's where yer 'sposed ta be, eh?" he snapped. "G'on, tell me den. Where were ya?"

She frowned. She knew Wingnut was a stubborn man, but she'd never seen him in such a negative light before. "There was a bombin'. At the casino uptown."

"Yeah? So?"

"Lot of people got hurt, Wingnut. I was down there and got involved in helpin' to rescue people cuz... cuz... I... could." Her Force sensitivity had been kept a secret for so many years, she didn't know how to even tell her employer about her ability. "I was der and could help, so I did."

He looked unimpressed. "What'd I always tell ya? Ya _don't get involved._ Simple. Stay outta messes dat others make and ya live a lot longer."

"Am I still fired? I... I came back after all. I..." Rym hesitated as her anger began to grow. "I... ya know what? Fergit it! I don't need this stinkin' place anyway! Ya just figure out how ya gotta fix dees damn bikes that the kids keep crashin' and ya do it all yerself. I don't need you!"

Wingnut stared as the woman turned on her heel and stormed out the door.

Rym marched four standard blocks before finally slowing down. She stared back down the street, eyes ablaze feeling the anger course through her.

"Aw, Sithspit, what've I done now?" she whispered in a hoarse, emotion-choked voice. "Gone and tole off the boss! Aw, flaming deathsticks, what've I done? What'd I do now?"

She collapsed against the wall behind her and let herself sink to the duracrete-paved ground below. Her knees pulled so close that she could rest her forehead on them, she trembled. Having lived her life in the slum area, Rym suddenly found it all unfamiliar. Nothing made sense. Nothing looked right.

"The Jedi!" she hissed. "She did this ta me!"

Rym leapt onto her feet and stormed toward the casino, a several kilometer walk away. She _had_ to find and confront Pharinseaya.

* * *

Pharinseaya sensed Rym's stormy, anger-leaden approach long before she saw her actually approaching. She'd been unable to get the woman out of her mind, having wondered where destiny was supposed to take the two of them. When Rym approached, the Jedi Knight had taken a short water break and was resting beneath the relief tents.

"YOU!" she screamed.

Other workers in the area looked up and saw the confrontational look on Rym's face and quickly cleared out. Pharinseaya, on the other hand, calmly continued to drink from her canteen and regarded the other woman.

"My life! YOU did this to me! I... I dunno what's happened! Nothin' is familiar! It's all yer fault! Ya did this to me!"

She waited and watched Rym tremble with rage. In all honesty, Pharinseaya wasn't quite sure _what_ to say to the angry mechanic. She could only guess that the effort to return to her job at Wingnut's had failed. Rationally, Pharinseaya knew that every decision had been Rym's: to meet her initially, to get involved without second thought in the rescue efforts and to then rapidly change up and go back to the mechanic and plead for her job. She knew she was just the easy target. But "being there" for someone had never been her strongest suit either. Pharinseaya waited.

"What am I gonna do now?" Rym ranted. "I ain't gotta job now so how'm I gonna keep my place? I... I'm... I'm so scared!"

Pharinseaya said calmly, "The Force moves us in mysterious ways. Perhaps this is a new beginning for you then."

Rym's eyes widened. "What's dat 'sposed to mean?!"

The Jedi set her canteen aside and looked Rym square in the eye. "Perhaps things went this way for you for a reason. Maybe you're supposed to have a different life from that as a mechanic, Rym."

Confusion settled on her face again. Rym knew now what Pharinseaya was saying: the opportunity was there to become a Jedi. Her eyes narrowed.

"I shouldn't've ever met ya," she retorted. "Ya ruined my life!"

Pharinseaya said nothing.

"What'm I gonna do now?"

"Since you have nothing else better to do with yourself, why not help down here? Maybe a new opportunity will present itself," she suggested.

Rym flinched. "An' get _involved_ again? Look where dat plan lead me this time!"

"It's entirely up to you... as it always has been," Pharinseaya said. "Me, I have work to do here. Whether you're a part of it or not is your decision."

She turned to walk back to the site. Rym chased at her heels, fuming. "_My _decision? Whatcha mean by dat?! I didn't _choose _to lose m'job! I was... I was doin' da right thing by helpin' here! 'S not my fault if Wingnut didn't like that!"

Pharinseaya slowed. She turned to face Rym again. "You're right, it's not. And you're right that you were doing the right thing by helping here. However, we cannot control the reactions of other people who fail to understand that we have to help others in need. So, you can only accept and move on when people like Wingnut make the choices that they do."

The Jedi again walked away, leaving Rym standing alone in the controlled chaos of the disaster site. She heard Rym's heavy footfalls as she hurried to catch up.

"OK, so I'll stay and help here... what else 'm I gonna do wif myself now?" Rym said.

Pharinseaya nodded. "The opportunity will present itself, I'm sure."

They paired up again, working in an uncomfortable silence. As Rym calmed down, her telekinetic control improved, which relieved Pharinseaya's nerves. As angry as the woman had been, she'd been quietly concerned that Rym would cause more harm than good lashing out with her raw Force powers.

They'd struggled through the rubble for nearly three hours before a Lieutenant from Emergency Services approached them.

"You're the Jedi, I gather."

Rym turned to give him a surprised look at being called a Jedi as Pharinseaya spoke up. "I am, yes. My name is Pharinseaya and this is my associate, Rym Svoby."

"Lieutenant Klo'lo. We'd like your assistance in the investigation though your work here in rescue and recovery has been a godsend," the fur-matted Bothan said.

Pharinseaya nodded. She glanced at Rym, who nodded an agreement to help.

"This way, please."


	7. Chapter 7

**The Odd Couple**  
--sparkvallen 

All the usual disclaimers abut Lucasfilm apply, though Pharinseaya and Rym Svoby are mine! :)

**Chapter Seven**

"--and as you can see from this slide, the damage must've caused a chain reaction by impacting already weakened structural supports," Commander Klo'lo was saying. He'd already clicked through fifteen detailed slides taken from the blast site. "Our hypothesis is that this was an inside job rather than an act of terrorism."

"Terrorism's terrorism," Rym muttered.

Jedi Kngiht Pharinseaya glanced at her protege then looked back to the Commander. "It is likely that it was a disgruntled employee or former construction worker who'd know such details about a building," she agreed, choosing to leave Rym's comment alone. "However and I'm sure you've already done so, you have to look at who would benefit from making the casino unusable and a structural threat overall. What enemies did its owner have?"

"We've begun compiling such research, yes," he said with a crisp nod. "Already, our department has been interviewing and gathering information. However, the fact still remains that someone had to know about the faulty initial construction."

Rym listened quietly, wondering what in the world she was supposed to do with this. She felt antsy, not having something to do. Standing around and listening wasn't her strong suit.

Evidently, Pharinseaya was thinking along similar lines for she asked, "Just what is it you'd like from us?"

Klo'lo coughed. "Well, we'd like your assistance in... interviewing the potential suspects we've brought in."

Pharinseaya picked up on his hesitancy. Even Rym raised an eyebrow. "Interviewing or interrogating?" the Knight questioned.

"Well. As I'm sure the local here will tell you, things have been rough in Coronet City for awhile," Klo'lo explained, "and we've had to really crack down on sentients in order to bring them to justice."

She looked to Rym. "Life sucks here is all I was gonna say."

Pharinseaya gave Klo'lo a scutinizing stare. "What are you suggesting, Commander?"

"Um. Force persuasion?"

"Absolutely not," she said without a pause. "Your team of investigators should be suitable enough to manage their own work without even suggesting that a Jedi should be expected to torment suspects into confessing. That is outrageous."

"I... I'm sorry for what I said," the Commander said. "It's just that..."

"N'way," Rym said, suddenly. "Ya ain't gonna get Pharinseaya caught up in no scam so you can score a good record, Commander! She's a good Jedi and I... I ain't even no Jedi so what help am I? Ya ain't gonna boost yer own record on her account to trick these people into sayin' things they might not mean to say!"

"What she said," Pharinseaya agreed. "If you'll excuse us."

With that, the Jedi Knight turned on her heel and left the control room. Rym followed close behind. Neither woman spoke until they were away from the recovery site and several blocks down the road.

Pharinseaya slowed in front of a bustling cafe. "Thank you."

"Fer what?"

"For defending me to Commander Klo'lo. I wasn't sure how you felt in there, but I appreciated your comments."

Rym shrugged nervously. "I'm just sick of de way they try to say they're enforce... enforcers," she said. "Dat's not da way to run things, I don't think."

Pharinseaya nodded. "The only thing now is what we do with ourselves. Jedi or not--"

The former mechanic blinked.

"Well, Jedi and partner or not," she amended herself, smiling, "we would find ourselves suddenly unwelcome at the relief site for having held onto our morals. The question is now whether we remain on Corellia or return back to the Temple."

Rym stared at her. "'Scuse me?"

"What are your plans then?" Pharinseaya asked.

"I... I dunno, Pharinseaya," she admitted. "I jes figured I'd help you down there and then... I, uh... I dunno."

Pharinseaya nodded and recalled Master Skywalker's vision for her. She still wondered if the entire point of the journey had been to find Rym Svoby.

"The invitation is there if you'd like to travel with me off-planet. I can't promise you anything on Yavin IV at the Jedi Temple, to be honest," she said. "But, let's face it. It's obvious you're Force sensitive and have the raw skills to be a Jedi. If that is your destiny."

"I..."

"Consider it, at least. Despite your negative associations with the idea, this could be why we've met up."

"'Spite my what?" Rym asked.

Pharinseaya shook her head patiently. "You were upset before when I brought up your being Force sensitive," she reminded. "Even so, maybe you're supposed to train to live the life of a Jedi Knight. Life is complicated that way. Will you think on it?"

Rym sighed. "What else've I got ta do now?"


	8. Chapter 8

**The Odd Couple**  
--sparkvallen 

Disclaimers: Bah humbug - you know I'm not Lucasfilm!

**Chapter Eight**

_I'll never take a public transport again_, Pharinseaya thought. _If this is how a mission for me is going to go from now on, never again! I'll learn to fly a small shuttle or even a B-Wing, blast it!_

Rym's life was the opposite of Pharinseaya's. Where Pharinseaya had traveled much of the galaxy by virtue of having been born of missionary parents, Rym had never been off Corellia much less to the other planets in that system. Where Pharinseaya had gone on to Jedi Training on Yavin IV when Skywalker had opened the Academy, Rym's life had been a struggle for daily survival, etching her way as a mechanic. Despite the bond they'd shared in Coronet City, jumping in to help with disaster relief, the two women found themselves sharing a compartment with a stranger.

It wasn't that having to bunk with Svoby was so horrible, it was just that Rym's sudden enthusiasm had begun to grate on her nerves somewhat. The spaceport itself was a new world to Rym. Like a child, she'd wanted to take time and explore the shops, the docking bays, the cafes. She'd never before ventured there so everything was exciting to her. And the ships! Rym's eyes roved from one glimpse to another as they passed by various docking bays while heading toward theirs. She had a comment for everything she saw...

...and Pharinseaya wasn't quite sure how to deal with this "new" Rym she was with. Once aboard the transport and they'd found the quarters they'd share for the next 72 hours, Rym had been in constant motion, wanting to explore the ship, wanting to interview its mechanics and engineers on the levels below. Pharinseaya had wanted to speak more with Rym about her Jedi potential or at least take time for meditation to sort out the experiences she'd had on Corellia, but Rym Svoby was not one to be contained.

_Force help us when we reach the Temple_, Pharinseaya thought. _What is Master Skywalk-- Luke, going to do with her?_

"Ya sure yer not gonna come to the cafeteria with me?" Rym asked one more time.

"No!" Pharinseaya said more sharply than she'd intended to. "I... No, please. Go ahead and enjoy yourself. I'll be fine here."

Rym shrugged and was out the door. As it wooshed closed, Pharinseaya let out a sigh of relief. Were they not traveling through hyperspace, the Jedi Knight would've contacted the Temple to let the staff and Masters know that she was bringing a "guest" back with her from the Corellia mission. She knew she should have said so before they left, but now it was too late. Comm channels were impossible at the speeds that the transport traveled.

"They'll want me to train her, I'm sure," Pharinseaya admitted out loud to the empty quarters. "I found her, so she'll be in my care. I bet. Oh, Force help me, what have I done? I'm not qualified to teach someone!"

She took a deep breath and let herself slide into a meditative state in which she could gain clarity and insight. Rym returned before long with a nerf milkshake for herself and for Pharinseaya. Her entry didn't rouse the Jedi from her meditation; she continued to sit in the chair with her hands on her thighs, eyes closed. Rym watched her, standing just inside the door for several minutes. She could feel a tingling on her scalp just watching Pharinseaya though she wasn't quite keen enough to realize it was the Force she was sensing in a new way. The Corellian finally took a seat on the edge of the lower bunk - Pharinseaya's bunk - and took a big slurp of her milkshake.

That foreign sound - the sucking on the straw - seemed to draw Pharinseaya back to waking reality. She quietly regarded Rym who was still watching her. Feeling much more centered, she smiled a greeting to the other woman. Rym did not return the expression. In fact, Svoby's countenance was dark and brooding.

"Is something wrong, Rym?"

Glaring, she replied, "Why dontcha tell me?"

Pharinseaya gasped in surprise at Rym's tone of voice. "I... excuse me?"

"I _heard _you! I heard everything you was thinkin!" Rym shouted. On the table in front of her, the nerf milkshake she'd brought back for Pharinseaya trembled. "I heard _all _of it!"

The Jedi spotted the quaking milkshake and could see that Rym's rage was being worked out telekinetically more than through her limited vocabulary. Pharinseaya realized in that moment that she was momentarily lucky the control was being extended to the beverage and not she. Rym was strong with the Force and that anger could easily be turned on her.

"Rym, please. Tell me what you heard." All the while, Pharinseaya thought, _Oh, Force help me now... she heard my earlier reservations._

"There you go again!" she screamed. The milkshake slid further across the table, its container being clenched and squeezed through the Force. "Why you gotta do that?! Think I can't hear you or somethin'?!"

"Oh! Oh, my goodness. Rym! You heard my thoughts through the Force?" Pharinseaya exclaimed. She shot to her feet.

"Whatcha think I was sayin'?! I HEARD you! Talkin' 'bout me and sayin' bad stuff after YOU dragged me on dis mission!" Rym stood as well; she had a significant height advantage over the Jedi.

"Rym..." Pharinseaya realized she'd not be able to compose her thoughts in advance. She'd just have to proceed slowly and cautiously. "Rym, I was just thinking things and I didn't know you could hear my thoughts as you did. I'm sorry, truly. What I was thinking... First, you have to understand that I'm exhausted. This has been a long and stressful journey for me--"

"Yeah, cuz of me. You said that already," she snapped.

"No. Because this entire mission was so vague for me, Rym," Pharinseaya countered, locking eyes with her. "Finding you was what I think my mission was for, to be honest. And I should have been prepared for your being excited about space travel, but I was being only as patient as I could be given how tired I am."

Rym snorted.

"What else you heard though has less to do with you and more to do with me."

"Dats not how it _sounded_, Pharinseaya," Rym pointed out. "Ya were _mad _I was happy with travelin', ya were _mad _cuz I wanted to check things out. Ya were _mad _at the idea that you'd have to train me to be a Jedi after YOU said I should come on dis trip! What da Sithspit ugly gundark are you up to, treatin' me like dat?!"

Exasperated, she lost her her regained cool and snapped, "Look! I'm sorry, Rym! I didn't _know _you could hear my thoughts, that we were that closely connected through the Force! Why were YOU listening in to a private thought anyway?"

Rym glared.

"My issues are my own. I've never been a Jedi teacher before and I'd expect that _IF _you're taken as a student that the Council would have me work with you. This has less to do with you than it does with me, as I said before."

"Fine. Whatever you say, Jedi," she snapped. She stalked past Pharinseaya to walk out of their cabin but not before Rym gave a final unconscious shove of the nerf milkshake and sent it crashing into the startled Jedi Knight. Pharinseaya was drenched in chilled chocolate nerf milk and horrified at the argument that had transpired.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Odd Couple**  
--sparkvallen 

_Do I really have to remind you that I'm not George Lucas or a part of his companies? :p_

**Chapter Nine**

Rym dropped her head onto the table and banged it repeatedly. She didn't care that the few others in the cafeteria were staring at her, whispering. She didn't care that even the security officer was eyeing her warily and speaking into his comlink about her to the dispatch. Rym knew she'd let her anger get too far our of control by not only lashing out at a Jedi Knight but then accidentally/purposefully throwing a milkshake at her.

"Oh, Sithspit, what'd I do now?" she moaned, her forehead pressed against the cool tabletop.

Rym sat up, leaned back to stare up in bafflement at the ceiling then finally closed her eyes. Her head was pounding less from the head banging on the table than from her own feeling of humiliation.

"And it ain't gonna get no better knowing that we're goin' to the Jedi Temple," she whispered. "Dat's just great. Gonna be in their camp and here I am, the stupid one who attacked the Jedi Knight. There prolly gonna lock me up or somethin' when we get there..."

With a frustrated sigh, she dropped her head back onto the table with a loud _THWAP_!

* * *

Back in the shared cabin, Pharinseaya had stripped out of her soggy tunic. She carried the nerf milkshake covered garment into the fresher and did her best to wash it out by hand.

"Luke Skywalker, what am I to do now?" she said aloud. Pharinseaya remembered that Rym might hear her spoken or unvoiced thoughts through the strange connection the women shared but she knew that there was little she could do about that. "What am I to do now?"

Despite the laments toward Master Skywalker, she knew she had no way of getting into contact with the Council Leader unless the transport needed to come out of hyperspace. However she chose to handle the situation with Rym Svoby was her decision alone.

Pharinseaya wrung out the tunic then put it back on, wet. She stood in front of the express dryer that any person might use after coming immediately out of the shower. It did the trick to dry her shirt until she could get it properly cleaned on Yavin IV.

"I really ought to find that girl," she conceded with a heavy sigh. "No matter what, I AM the Jedi Knight here."

Pharinseaya reclipped her blue-bladed lightsaber to her utility belt and exited the cabin. The transport was of a considerable size and while she -strangely- couldn't directly sense Rym through the Force, the Jedi decided to walk toward Rym's last known location before the altercation in their cabin: the cafeteria.

Upon arriving there however, she found only a few scattered sentients - a Twi'lek, a Bith and two Humans - in the seating area. Where one would order food was deserted. Pharinseaya noticed one of the public transport's security personnel standing with his back to the far wall, watching everyone.

Approaching the security guard who - like many - stood nearly a foot taller than Pharinseaya, she drew on her most serious and calm visage. "Excuse me," she said, "I am looking for someone... my cabin-mate and wonder if you might have seen her recently?"

He finally took note of the Jedi standing before him. "I see lots of people in here, lady. Can you be more specific?"

_He's baiting me, he's just baiting me_, she thought quickly. Pharinseaya breathed a calming breath then spoke again. "She's a young woman, perhaps in her mid-20s by human standards. Short blonde hair, lithe and--" 

"Oh, she's the one who was banging her head on the table over there just a little bit ago," the guard - who's nametag read Mauc - said as he nodded to the booth where Rym had earlier been seated.

Pharinseaya rolled her eyes, imagining all the drama that Rym must have been displaying. _Banging her head?_

"You wouldn't have happened to have seen which way she went did you, Mr. Mauc?"

"Just Mauc," he replied, glancing at her briefly then looking back on the quiet cafeteria. "I only saw she went down the south corridor. Opposite from where your cabin is, correct?"

Pharinseaya nodded. "Thanks... Mauc. Your assistance is appreciated."

"Girl's gonna have one hell of a headache later on," he remarked.

She considered their misunderstanding, the argument and evidently Rym's behavior. Pharinseaya thought about the conversation they were going to need to have before arriving on Yavin IV. To Mauc, she said, "You have no idea..."

"Need any help?"

"Thank you, but no. I should be able to attend to the situation."

She bowed to the security guard and hurried toward the south corridor. Pharinseaya was so focused on finding and confronting Rym that she didn't even feel Mauc's lingering gaze on her back.

* * *

"Oh, mother of all that's evil in the Jundland wastes, here she comes again," Rym groaned. She could feel Pharinseaya drawing closer to her. The Force had told her when the Jedi Knight had left their cabin, when she had reached the cafeteria to talk with the security guard and she felt her closing in on her now.

"Rym? You're in here, aren't you?" Pharinseaya had gradually begun to sense her associate through the Force after leaving Mauc in the cafeteria.

Coming further into the room, she found Rym tucked into a corner of the entertainment/leisure room, staring at a black vid screen.

"I'm here," she replied with resignation in her voice.

The Jedi Knight decided to humble herself before Svoby as a way of initiating conversation and building back what fragile trust had been made. "Rym, I'm sorry. This entire... situation... was my fault entirely. I should have been more conscious of the fact that you might have been able to read my thoughts given your strength in the Force. I didn't think. I hope you can forgive me."

Rym looked up, dazed. She offered Pharinseaya a shrug.

Pharinseaya checked her annoyance at the flippant gesture and instead took a deep breath. "I'm... making an effort, Rym."

"OK, so you're forgiven. That feel better?"

"You know what? We have a long, shared journey still. I'd rather get things worked out rather than spend the rest of the voyage like this." Pharinseaya sat down on the table in front of Rym and stared at her.

"What difference that make?" she said miserably. "I'm stupid and I screwed up... throw somethin' at a Jedi. Forget it, Rym... yer goin' nowhere but to slum somewhere 'round the galaxy now. No home, no future... space off, Rym."

Pharinseaya shook her head. "All's not lost, Rym. People lose their temper. People sometimes make bad decisions. Your choices are irreversible, yes, but that doesn't put us at an impasse," she said. "I am prepared to move beyond our incident if you are."

"Are you for real?"

Pharinseaya pinched herself for effect. "Let's save those discussions for the times when you're in Jedi training," she laughed. "Trust me."


	10. Chapter 10

**The Odd Couple**  
--sparkvallen

_All the usual disclaimers apply.  
Thanks for reading! :)_

**Chapter Ten**

Pharinseaya always found the return to Yavin IV breath-taking. The ancient Massassi Temples just barely peaked over the lines of trees bearing the same name... the name of the ancient peoples who'd once populated the moon. As the transport began its descent to Yavin IV, she watched from the passenger lounge, seeing those Temple peaks look larger and larger through the glass.

Rym stood beside her, quiet and watchful. She'd never been out of the Corell system so Yavin IV was an exciting though scary new place to her.

"Please take an open seat and be strapped in. We're beginning our landing and docking procedures."

Reluctantly, they both sat down though they remained in the lounge where they could watch, though with a lesser view being seated.

"How long didya say ya lived down there?" Rym asked.

"A little more than three years," she replied.

"Doesn't look like much on Yavin IV."

"There isn't," Pharinseaya agreed. "It's a very rural moon. There are the ancient temples which you could see and animal life aside from the Jedi..."

Rym nodded.

The landing was without incident and they were the only people on the public transport who were deboarding, much to the dismay of the other travelers. The process to unload a Jedi and her associate cost them two hours ground-side before they could lift off again and continue on their way.

Luke Skywalker, the leader of the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV was there to personally greet Pharinseaya as he stood on the edge of the landing pad. He too was garbed in the traditional robes of the Jedi Knight and wore a tired smile on his face as she and Rym approached.

Pharinseaya bowed. "Master Skywalker."

"Pharinseaya, it's good to see you here again," he said warmly.

"Master SKYWALKER?" Rym shouted. "You're LUKE SKYWALKER?!"

"Rym!" Pharinseaya gasped, turning three shades of red.

"It's alright," Luke said first to the Jedi Knight. Then, he turned his attention to Rym Svoby and bowed to her from the neck. "So, I gather that your name is Rym. Hello. Yes, I'm Luke Skywalker, the leader of this academy."

Gaping at him, she mumbled, "Rym... Svoby. From Corellia."

Luke glanced at Pharinseaya. She was still flushed and embarrassed at the outburst.

"Yer... really him?"

"I really am," he smiled.

"I... just... whoa!"

"I think that's the same reaction Pharinseaya first had when she came to train here, actually," he joked.

Pharinseaya wanted to tuck her head into her robe and never come out again at that! She sighed ruefully, realizing she could have prepped Rym better for the arrival. But, she hadn't been expecting Master Skywalker to be standing there waiting for her!

"Let's go inside," Luke said. "I'm sure you could use a little freshening up while there's time for such things and your guest might also like time to get settled. Then we can talk."

Rym followed them in silence, taking everything in in wonder. As they walked toward the main temple the Jedi used, she saw several different Jedi working on various stages of their training. From lightsaber sparring in the clearings to students invovled in meditation or physical exercise... she was in awe.

For Pharinseaya, despite Luke's teasings, it felt good to be "home." She had to wonder what Luke's impressions were of Rym, the fiery mechanic guest, though she expected that their meeting later would cover his thoughts.

Skywalker led Svoby to one of the few guest chambers within the temple that had once been the sleeping quarters for a member of the Rebel Alliance nearly 30 years before.

"I'll just want to speak with Pharinseaya for a little while, so feel free to relax and refresh. We'll send for you, if that is alright."

Rym stared. She never in her wildest dreams would have imagined that she would ever meet Luke Skywalker, the hero of the Rebellion and first Jedi of the new Order.He smiled, then retreated down the hall. Rym sat down on the small cot, unable to believe her surroundings.

On the floor above, Pharinseaya dropped her travel bag on the floor and collapsed face first onto her cot. "Thank the Force for this space! What a trip!"

She forced herself up to take a shower and put on much cleaner and fresher clothing than she'd had for the duration of the trip to and from Corellia. Pharinseaya descended the floors to the small garden that the Jedi kept at the back of the temple where she just knew she'd find Master Skywalker.

He was there waiting for her with a cup of stimcaf. "I thought you would appreciate this," he said, smiling.

"And I do!" she agreed, taking the mug gratefully.

"I trust your mission went well?"

Pharinseaya considered his question. She hadn't known what to expect of his vague and elusive vision-inspired mission, so... "It went well," Pharinseaya said. "The mission seemed to be two-fold. One was finding Rym Svoby by seeming chance and the second aspect was our being in the right place at the right time to aid in the rescue efforts at a casino in Coronet City."

"I see."

"Rym and I have had our share of... challenges, but the important thing is that the woman is extremely Force sensitive. The only drawback at this point is that she's also very emotionally unstable. At least compared with Jedi standards," she amended.

Luke nodded. "And she is here for training?"

"If she is to be accepted, yes," Pharinseaya said honestly. "I made no pretense that it would be an automatic entry."

"Oh, so you didn't offer her an apprenticeship?"

She gave her a hard look, trying to discern if he was serious or teasing her again. "I... didn't, no. I wasn't sure that was my place, Master."

"Luke," he reminded her, smiling. "If you feel the connection is there, it's always at your discretion to make such an offer of apprenticeship. Is the connection there?"

Pharinseaya's eyes grew wide. "The reason I was still smelling of a chocolate nerf milkshake was because of such a connection!" she exclaimed. "Oh yes... it's there."

"Well then."

"Am I ready?" she asked.

"Do I really need to pull up the roster to remind you that you're a Jedi Knight, Pharinseaya?"

"That's not quite what I meant."

Luke sighed. "The first step in training someone else is always difficult. I remember how I struggled here with the first Jedi students. Streen, Clighal and the others... And Gantoris fell to the Dark Side from that first group. It's never easy. Only you know if you're ready."

Pharinseaya bit her lip, thinking.

Sensing her indecision, Skywalker added, "If you're not ready, Rym is welcome to train as a Jedi student until which point you are, unless another Knight were to take her as an apprentice. There is no dishonor in that."

"I know. And that... may be... best, for the time being."

He nodded. "You're free to go then and enjoy your return to the Academy. I'll have Rym come down and talk to her myself then."

"Thank you."

Luke caught a passing apprentice's attention and asked the young man to fetch Rym from the guest room. He nodded and hurried off.

Rym arrived with her escort only minutes later and was surprised to see that Pharinseaya was not with him.

"Rym, why don't you have a seat here," Luke offered.

Continuing to gape at him, she sat down. _Holy Gaffi Stick! I'm sittin' with Luke Skywalker! But where is Pharinseaya?_

"How do you find Yavin IV so far, Rym?"

"It's really... uh, pretty. And quiet. Nothin' like Coronet City."

He smiled. "Yes, its worlds different. I understand that Pharinseaya spoke with you about your Force potential."

"M'what? Oh, yeah, the fact that I can move things with my mind, yeah," she replied nervously.

"Right, that. How would you feel about training in the Jedi Arts here?"

Rym struggled under his gaze. "She thought that... that it'd be a good thing fer me to do. Pharinseaya did. Because I got canned from my job. I was a mechanic but he fired me fer helping Pharinseaya at the rescue."

"But how does it feel to you? Being here? The idea of studying here?" Luke pressed.

She all but squirmed on the bench. "I... uh... like the idea."

"Very good," he said with a nod. Far more of the conversation was happening through the Force as far as Luke was concerned; where Rym's communication difficulties made her hard to understand, he could sense what she meant and intended through the powerful waves of energy that came off her. "We'd be glad to have you here, Rym. You can begin at any time you're ready."

"Is... is Pharinseaya gonna teach me?"

"Not at the moment," he said honestly. "She is new as a Jedi Knight and isn't quite ready for the--"

"She hates me, jes say it," Rym snapped.

"Rym, no. Take it easy. This isn't about you," Luke said carefully, suddenly understanding Pharinseaya's comment about the woman's emotional state. She was obviously very insecure despite the bravado with which she carried herself. "Pharinseaya has things she needs to learn first before she can be a good Master to anyone," he explained. "And while you have things to learn about being a Jedi too, it gives you both time to... grow. Do you understand?"

"I suppose," she grumped, looking down at the grass.

"Believe me. Pharinseaya wouldn't have ever asked you here if she didn't think highly of you," he added, touching her shoulder gently.

"Do I get to uh... talk to her still?"

"Of course. I am sure she'll be around the Academy the entire time while you're here as well."

"OK."

"We'll move your things to the student level of the Temple and I'll have Pharinseaya meet you later to help you get started here in training," Luke said.

"OK, that's cool. Thanks, Mr... I mean, uh--"

"Master Skywalker."

She grinned. "Yeah. Thanks, Master Skywalker."


	11. Chapter 11

**The Odd Couple**  
-sparkvallen

All the usual disclaimers apply!

**Chapter Eleven**

Training Rym Svoby was unlike anything the Jedi teachers of Yavin IV had ever experienced. As Pharinseaya had already known, Svoby could be difficult, stubborn, arrogant and downright uncooperative for her own reasons. The fact that she was especially gifted with the Force only added to the young woman's troubles because she didn't know how to cope with the expectations placed upon her and her only reaction was to lash out and be a further problem.

When it came down to it, Master Skywalker ended up as her teacher for the bulk of her training and refinement. Whether it was because he well knew he'd given Yoda as much trouble as Rym gave everyone or because he had extraordinary patience with the Jedi students in general, no one knew; slowly and with much time spent, Rym Svoby began shaping into the form of the Jedi Knight.

Rym rarely saw Pharinseaya, if ever. With her mission complete to Corellia, she returned to holing herself up in the archives where she could study holocron after holocron, taking in the ancient knowledge of Jedi Masters long passed. The fact that Pharinseaya remained secluded troubled Skywalker to no end; his expectation of the vision was one where Luke hoped Pharinseaya would come out of her shell and take a more active role in teaching and leading at the Praxeum. Instead, she remained internal and withdrawn.

* * *

Standing in the blistering, balmy heat of the jungle, Rym awkwardly managed a training lightsaber with a light blue blade as she faced Luke Skywalker's bright jade one.

"You're doing well, Rym, just watch your footwork," he advised.

Rym felt like she was going to trip over her own feet. Her face was a mask of frustration and concentration as she attempted to balance herself just right, prepare herself for the eventual lunge from Luke and hold onto her Force connection consciously.

"Feel the Force," Skywalker urged. "Let that be your first duty. Everything else will fall into place."

"No offense, Master, but tossing things with the Force is more how my connection's always worked," Rym reminded. "Standing and holding a lightsaber isn't natural."

With the Jedi Training and all of the studying that had become a part of her routine, Rym's ability to communicate had vastly improved to the point where she no longer confused people with her sentences.

"Jedi are versatile," Luke responded with a grin as he brought his lightsaber around to attack.

Rym leapt out of his path and instinctively brought her own training blade down on his, pushing it away.

"Very good. You can do it, see?"

She chuckled. "What you're sayin' is that there's hope for me."

They sparred for a third of an hour before Luke extinguished his blade. He bowed to Rym and she returned the gesture.

"I'll need to take back that training lightsaber," Skywalker said.

"What? Why?"

"You're ready to design and create your own saber now, Apprentice. This is your final stage of formal training before you move onto your Knighthood," he explained.

She shifted nervously.

"Go on to the archives now and do some research on hilt designs, materials and crystal placement. You'll find all the research you'll need there."

"Yes, Master," Rym said obediently.

She was uncomfortable with the idea of proceeding to Jedi Knighthood for several reasons. The least of which was that she didn't feel ready and the more personal reason was that she always expected to train closely with Pharinseaya.

Without paying attention to her surroundings much, Rym quickly found herself at the entrance to the archives; it was housed in a large series of conference rooms that the Rebellion had used years before. Rym walked in, feeling numb, and was surprised to find Pharinseaya seated there with a holocron on the table before her.

"Um, hi," she offered.

Pharinseaya turned and beamed back at the younger woman. "Rym! It's so good to see you! How are you?"

"Uh... alright. I hope I'm not botherin' you or anything."

Pharinseaya shut down the hologram Jedi Master in mid-sentence to give Rym her full attention. "I'm so glad to see you! How is your training going?"

Rym hesitated. "I'm... heh, actually here to research my first lightsaber."

"Very good! Luke must be very proud of your progress... as am I then."

She frowned. "Can I ask ya something, Pharinseaya?"

"Certainly. Have a seat."

Rym sat down across from her at the table. Staring at the hardwood grain instead of looking at the Knight, she asked, "How come you didn't train me?"

Pharinseaya realized that this question had likely plagued Rym her entire training, even though she had the opportunity to learn under the greatest Jedi Master of the current age.

"Rym," she said slowly, "I didn't feel I was ready to have a student. I was but a new Knight and still learning really. I didn't feel I knew things well enough to be a good mentor to teach the path to someone else."

Rym looked up.

"It didn't have anything to do with you, my friend," Pharinseaya said. "I hope you know that."

"I- uh. Well, I know now," was what she finally replied.

"Good. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I didn't want to train you," she said. "I just didn't feel ready to train anyone."

Rym nodded. "I gotcha. Thanks for sayin' so. I better get studyin' for now. I hope I don't blow myself up tryin' to make my own lightsaber."

"I doubt you will," Pharinseaya said with a laugh. "You're the mechanic after all!"

* * *

Days later, after great meditation and toil over the gathered materials, Rym Svoby emerged from her dorm room within the Massassi Temple with a finely polished lightsaber hilt hanging from her belt. She had already tested the saber in the privacy of her room to ensure that it worked properly before displaying the final product to her Master.

Rym actually found Master Skywalker and Pharinseaya together outside the Great Temple, leaning against the cool stone walls.

"It's finished?" Luke asked.

She nodded eagerly, smiling at both of the more senior Jedi.

"By all means, Rym! Why are you keeping us waiting?" Pharinseaya laughed.

Rym unclipped the lightsaber and touched the internal activation stud with the Force. With a snap-hiss, the brilliant green blade sprung to life, castin a glow on her pale skin.

"I didn't blow m'self up," she joked to Pharinseaya.

"I see. You have quite the crystals in there too! What an amazing color!"

"You have done well, Rym," Skywalker said. "And now, this takes you to your final test."

"Uh, what?"

"You and Pharinseaya are to travel together on a mission to Coruscant, to the lower levels," he explained.

Pharinseaya's head shot from staring into the jade lightsaber blade to Luke's face in surprise.

"I have a report from several persons in the lower levels - by way of General Antilles, that is - that there is a Force sensitive living down there," Luke went on, ignoring Pharinseaya's surprised look. "It's said that this person is being treated as a prophet of sorts for visions she has given to those who come to see her."

"Whoa," Rym whispered. Pharinseaya was thinking the same thought.

"If this prophet is interested, she could become a powerful and influential Jedi if the reports are true. Your mission is to travel to Coruscant, make contact with the prophet and discern her intentions in the Force as well as the possiblity of her becoming a Jedi. Rym, this is your defining mission. Should you return successful, you return as the newest Jedi Knight of our Order."

"And if I flunk out?" she wanted to know.

"Then we go from there and decide your fate."

"This shouldn't be all that difficult, at least by how you've described it," Pharinseaya said to Luke. "Or are there details you haven't told us yet?"

"Just that this prophet has an entourage who screens the followers," Luke replied. "Working your way through or past that entourage may be the challenging aspect of your mission."

With that, he bowed from the neck to both women and slipped away into the Temple.

"Well, then!" Pharinseaya said to Rym.

"I... guess we're workin' together again, huh?"

"Seems so! I suppose we should go prepare. The next transport will land tomorrow and we can make our flight connections from there," the senior Jedi said.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Odd-Couple **  
-sparkvallen

_Disclaimers: All the usual disclaimers apply – Pharinseaya and Muac "on loan" and inspired by friends. Rym is mine. Everyone else belongs to Lucasfilm basically! _

**Chapter Twelve**

Pharinseaya was waiting at the landing pad for the younger Jedi, Rym, for their mission to Coruscant. The galactic hub was a system she had visited once as part of a research trip; delving into the lower levels of the city-planet was not something she looked particularly forward to and Pharinseaya suspected that was exactly why Master Skywalker had assigned the task to her, along with Rym.

Rym came up beside her as silent as a ghost which was a change in the younger woman's style compared to how she carried herself in her pre-Jedi life. She too was dressed in the outfit and robes of the Jedi Order and carried her new lightsaber on her belt.

"Mornin'," Rym offered with little enthusiasm.

"Good morning yourself!" she chuckled. "Rough night?"

"Somethin' like that. Just nervous I guess."

Pharinseaya nodded. "To be honest, I am too. Coruscant's lower levels aren't to be traveled lightly. And this mission is more than peculiar."

"Corsucant's lower levels aren't gonna be much worse than growing up in a bad part of Coronet City, I'm sure," Rym said defensively. She laughed. "Don't worry - I'll take care of ya."

"That makes me feel so much better," the Knight shot back, smiling.

They fell into silence, watching the horizon for the approach of their transport.

"Were ya able to find anything out about this prophet?" Rym asked.

"Not a word, you?"

She shook her head. "Nothin'. Kinda weird, don't ya think?"

Pharinseaya shrugged. "It's a strange galaxy. And those who want to stay hidden can if they do it right," she said. "We'll do our best to learn what we can once we're in-system though."

Rym nodded, remembering how they learned as they went back on Corellia when they found themselves on the search-and-rescue team.

* * *

**Coruscant**

Svoby stared wide-eyed at the skyscrapers and spires that surrounded the docking bay on Coruscant. She'd never been off Corellia until meeting Pharinseaya nearly a year earlier and then, Yavin IV was the most she'd ever seen. The view was unbelievable to her eyes and it took Pharinseaya's prodding to bring her back to the moment.

They left the spaceport and stood on the many intersecting walking paths that covered the city-planet.

"Uh. Where do we start?" Rym asked, still awestruck.

Pharinseaya suggested, "I don't think its wise for us to just charge down to the lower levels demanding to see his prophet. Perhaps we could do a little research and gather information from the locals."

"How?"

"Being mindful and... well, eavesdropping if need be." She grinned widely. "We'll play it by ear."

Pharinseaya led Rym across the many catwalks, letting the Force guide her steps. Her instinct was that listening in and even asking leading questions about this prophet could pan out with the right crowd. Rym followed along dutifully, trying to keep her eyes on the Jedi Knight rather than gaping at the architecture. Coronet City had been a large enough city to have seen many a different type of species so that was not surprising for Rym; just the sheer quantity of people was overwhelming to her.

Pharinseaya nodded toward a "psychic gift shop" across the walkway from them. "Feel anything from there?"

Rym frowned, drawing on the Force as she'd been taught, and directing her senses toward the gift shop. "I don't pick up on any Force sensitives if that's what you're asking," she said. "It's all kinda 'dull' in fact."

"Agreed. Not a likely place for the prophet, but somewhere we could still drop a question or two."

They walked side-by-side to the psychic gift shop. Rym led the way into the small store and choked on the powerful smell of burning incsense. It was gloomy and the strong smell permeated everything.

"You have questions for which you seek an answer," came a disembodied voice.

"Now that's powerful, whoa. Way powerful," Rym said sarcastically.

Pharinseaya gave her a Force push to quiet her. "We're just browsing, actually," she said calmly. "Your shop is our first visit here on Coruscant."

"I can tell you everything you need to know... You are searching for for something-"

"Someone," Rym muttered, shaking her head. She coughed again from the incense burning into her lungs.

Pharinseaya sighed and rolled her eyes at Rym's continued defiance. The younger Jedi had much to learn about finesse as far as being subtle went!

"We do have questions that we seek an answer for," Pharinseaya said, "though it would take someone of considerable skill to be able to 'know' such answers."

The disembodied voice chuckled at the challenge, taking her bait. "I am one who is skilled... for a fee."

"Of course."

"Rym!" Pharinseaya was getting exasperated with her, seeing her fall into her old habits. She thought if anyone could, Luke Skywalker would have broken the Corellian of her mouthiness. To the psychic, she said, "We are more interested in information to be honest, rather than our futures."

"A good psychic would provide you with both. For a fee."

Enlightenment came upon Rym finally as she realized this was simply business. Piping up again, the Knight-to-be asked, "So whaddya charge anyway?"

Pharinseaya smiled.

The speaker materialized, coming from the shrouded corner of the room. She was a small older woman, Pharinseaya's senior by a good thirty years. "So you are Jedi. I thought so. Interesting to see them about again."

The Jedi remained silent now, waiting her out.

"Kind of amusing that you'd come to a place like this to see someone like me when you are Jedi," she added.

"We are looking for information rather than a reading, as I said," Pharinseaya reminded.

"That you did. What sort of information do you require?"

Rym remained silent, not wanting to mess this up now that the mysterious speaker was finally showing her face. Pharinseaya continued to discuss with the psychic on their behalf. "Have you heard anything out of the ordinary in the business lately?"

"Such as?"

"You tell me," she countered.

The psychic laughed. "Silly Jedi, there are always things 'out of the ordinary' in this business! I suppose what you're really asking about is the Prophet, hmm?"

Rym's eyes widened but she remained quiet.

"That could be," Pharinseaya said evasively, smiling back. "Is there anything of note to tell there?"

"Just that he's gained quite a following and its been murder for business up on these levels of the city," the psychic said.

"Oh really?" Rym finally asked, feeling ridiculous.

"M-hmmm. Something about a power mad leader with 'magical' skills does that to people. They flock to him."

Him, Pharinseaya noted. Finally, we hae a lock on the gender at least. "What sort of 'magical' skills, have you heard?"

"No, no. That remains mysterious, unfortunately. Likely a faded magician rather than a truely skilled psychic, if you want my credits on that though."

The Jedi nodded, listening.

"Bad for business is all I can really say," the old woman repeated. "Really bad."

Pharinseaya thanked the woman for her time and set a small handful of credits on the countertop. "You've been a great help to us, thank you."

She retreated out the door and into the smoggy air rather than the closed quarters of the gift shop. Rym coughed repeatedly, trying to get the smell from her system.

"How much did you give her anyway?" Rym asked.

"What does it matter?"

She frowned. "Um... I dunno. I just wasn't expectin' that we'd have to pay for that conversation, I guess."

Pharinseaya shrugged. "She was eventually helpful. A little, anyway. I felt badly for her, losing business."

"Alright. What now?"

"We keep asking questions until we have enough information to work from. Although, I think we should alter our appearance some," she said. "Perhaps we shouldn't travel as Jedi."

"OK, but I don't understand one bit," Rym admitted.

Pharinseaya explained. "We are both a welcomed and unwelcomed presence in the galaxy, Rym. Some harvest a strong dislike for Jedi for their own reasons. I am only thinking that if we were dressed as 'civilians' in regular clothing with our lightsabers hidden, we may be more approachable to more people. Tourists rather than Jedi on a mission, see?"

"Uh, alright, if you say so," she said, still unconvinced. "Guess you gotta shell out more credits to buy us some different clothes though."

"Me? This bill is on you, kid."


	13. Chapter 13

**The Odd-Couple**  
-sparkvallen 

_Disclaimers: All the usual disclaimers still apply. I'm still not Uncle George! ;) Pharinseaya Muac are based on friends and Rym is all mine!_

**Chapter Thirteen**

Pharinseaya had intended for she and Rym to be essentially "undercover Jedi" with the suggestion of a clothing change on Coruscant. She had thought that by being inconspicuous and not recognizable as Jedi Knights, they'd have a better chance of working their way into the trust and inner sanctum of The Prophet.

She stared ruefully at the wild print material in the mirror that she was now wearing._ See if I ever give Rym the authority to get us a costume again!_ she thought with a sigh. We definitely don't look like Jedi, at least...

"C'mon! Have a little faith, ya know, Pharinseaya," Rym was saying across the boutique from her. Svoby had opted for a resale shop in the commercial district that specialized in off-world fashions of the most extreme variety. The Jedi Apprentice was garbed in a neon yellow button-down shirt with bright pink pants.

Pharinseaya shook her head. "Rym, you look like a sun that's gone supernova."

"You look pretty cute yerself," she retorted with a big grin. "Ya said it yerself though. We're tourists. I take it you haven't ever noticed the touristy types, have you?"

"Not... really," she admitted, still looking dismayed.

"OK, then. It's a good thing ya put me in charge of this." Rym handed over the necessary credits to the chuckling clerk and the Jedi made their way back onto the streets. She'd even paid a little extra to have the boutique hold onto their traditional tunic and robes until they could return.

The Jedi Knight of the duo led them to a turoblift which they rode down three levels to the seedier part of the commercial district. On this level, a shopper did not find the fancy stores or even the resale boutiques. Down here, just a few levels below the busier areas, a customer found the pawn shops, the stores that carried exotic and sometimes illegal substances, gifts and more.

Given the reputation this Prophet seemed to have as an underground fad, Pharinseaya hoped that they'd find more of a lead on how to make contact with the character. She still had her personal doubts about the Jedi potential of such a character but also remembered that Jedi hopefuls came from all areas of life; even her companion Rym proved that fact.

"Still looks nicer than where I used to live," Rym remarked, looking around boldly.

"What're two pretty gals like you two doin' way down here?" came a male voice from behind them.

Pharinseaya and Rym spun to face the speaker, both of them unconsciously drifting a hand toward their lightsabers.

"Muac!" Pharinseaya gasped.

"You know him?"

"Hey, you're that Jedi Knight from the transport!" the security guard said with a startled smile. "And her little... um, protege?"

Rym stared wildly from Pharinseaya to Muac. "What's goin' on here?"

"Rym, Muac here was part of the security team on the transport we took from Corellia to Yavin IV," Pharinseaya explained. "He helped me locate you after our... incident."

"Oh." She looked down at her feet.

"So, what are you two doing down here, dressed as you are?" Muac wanted to know. He put his hands on his hips, looking at both Jedi.

"We're on a mission," Pharinseaya said.

"Well, I would have hoped Jedi had a better fashion sense than what you're displaying-"

"HEY!" Rym shouted.

"-becuase you're about as subtle as a Star Destroyer hiding in a used speeder lot, ladies," he finished.

"We look like tourists," Rym insisted.

"If you say so."

"What are you doing down here, Muac? Is this how you spend your down-time?" Pharinseaya looked around at the various 'suggestive' shops on their level and gave him a knowing look.

"Oh, please. Who knows what intergalactic disease one would contract down here. I'm down here also on a mission of sorts," he snapped.

"Maybe we could work together?"

Rym gave Pharinseaya a questioning glance. What's this all about? she wondered.

The Knight ignored the stare and kept her eyes trained on Muac.

"Why not," he said after some thought. "I'm down here looking up some clown called the Prophet-"

"You are?" Rym shouted.

"Rym!" Pharinseaya snapped.

"He told me this fortune, that I was going to get a promotion and be a part of something 'big.' And here I still am, providing security for a public transport. I want my money back," Muac explained.

Rym just stared, unable to believe that the Force had directed this man to them twice now and that he had information that was critical and useful to their mission.

"Did you see him here on Coruscant?" Pharinseaya asked.

"In a temporary shop, several weeks back," he replied. "I'd gone back there and learned that the Prophet had set up a new base of operations in the lower levels for better security, or so they said. Since I was a past customer, his goons seemed it safe to pass along the location of the new location."

Pharinseaya and Rym exchanged smiles.

"What are you two down here for then? What is your mission?"

Rym laughed. "Ya wouldn't believe it, but the exact same thing. Well, not the exact same because we didn't get a readin' or nothing, but..." She took a breath. "We were looking for the Prophet too because its thought he might be a Force sensitive. A potential Jedi."

Muac stroked his moustache and beginnings of a beard. "Hmmm... not that I've seen many Jedi, mind you, but I don't think he'd be the type you're looking for."

"No?"

He shook his head. "This Prophet didn't strike me as a Jedi-type. More styled after the Emperor than anything if you want my opinion."

Pharinseaya shuddered. "Point made."

"But we've still gotta see for ourselves," Rym interjected. "Not that I doubt you, Mr. Muac-"

"Just Muac."

"OK. Well, we still do need to find out, Pharinseaya."

She nodded. To Muac, she asked, "May we join you?"

"On one condition," was his reply.

"Which is?"

"We can get you into some better outfits. I won't be seen another step with you in those!"


	14. Chapter 14

**The Odd-Couple **  
-sparkvallen

_Disclaimers: All the usual disclaimers still apply. I'm still not Uncle George! ;) Pharinseaya, Muac & Azyra are all based on friends and Rym is all mine._

**Chapter Fourteen**

With the Jedi re-dressed according to Muac's demands, they proceeded on foot through the lower, seedy levels of Coruscant dressed in combat fatigues as the security guard was. Muac had insisted on leading the way to the Prophet's contacts, having spoken with the Prophet before and received a fortune-telling which he considered a sham. As they walked, Pharinseaya kept her eye on Muac but kept her Force sensitivity targeted at the younger Jedi, Rym. It was clear that while Rym wanted his help, she wasn't pleased at his taking the assertive male leadership role. Still, the Knight-hopeful had remained quiet despite her past outbursts and Pharinseaya found that re-assuring.

Muac led them to another turbolift that took them down several levels lower on the city-planet. As the 'lift doors opened to a level where no sunlight ever reached, Pharinseaya felt a tingling of danger in the Force. Automatically, she shot forward, pulling out her lightsaber and igniting it. She held it inches from the face of another Human woman whose expression was clearly that of surprise.

"Excuse me!" the stranger exclaimed. "Could you please get your lasersword out of my face?"

Pharinseaya took one step backward, keeping the lightsaber trained on the other woman. Rym gasped behind her and Muac looked on with equal surprise. "State your business," the senior Knight snapped in an authoritative voice.

"Excuse me? I said to get that out of my face, Jedi."

"Speak. Now."

"Uh, Pharinseaya? I don't know what yer doin' but she's a Force sensitive ya know..." Rym said from behind her.

"I'm known as Azyra. I'm down here on the lower levels looking to procure some art supplies if you don't mind and the fact that you have your lightsaber ready to singe my nose hairs is definitely not scoring you points in the friend department," she snapped.

Pharinseaya moved the lightsaber away from the woman but kept it ignited and close at her side. "Be on your way, stranger."

"I don't think so," Azyra replied, her dark brown eyes fixing on those of Pharinseaya's in the gloom of artificial, ill-working light. "You're not walking away from this so easily after threatening me, Master Jedi." She made the honorific sound like a curse.

Muac just leaned his back against the turbolift wall and chuckled.

"Uh... she's got a point," Rym interjected. She could feel Pharinseaya's annoyance at her words, but plunged forward. "If Azyra here knows the lower levels, she and Muac might make a good team, ya know? Like how I was so indispeninflueI mean, I was so helpful to ya on Corellia."

Pharinseaya nodded. "Why were you looking for art supplies down here?"

Azyra rolled her eyes, clearly put off with the Jedi. With disdain clear in her voice, she replied, "Because I'm an artist. Because I needed supplies. And because despite the area, if you know where to look, you can get incredible deals for the hassle."

"Probably stolen," Muac said with a wink.

"Not my problem, is that?" Azyra challenged, glancing at him.

He shrugged.

Pharinseaya said, "Alright, so you're down here to buy art supplies, fine. I don't sense any duplicity from you on that. But my colleague is right that you're Force sensitive, Miss Azyra."

"IJust/i Azyra," she corrected, clutching his sketchpad against her side. "And what of it? Not everybody who has certain skills need be a Jedi. There are already too many of you in my esteemed opinion."

Azyra flashed a look in Rym's direction and the young Jedi flushed.

Muac chuckled again, watching the battle of wills. He could stand back and watch the women fight all day; besides, it was amusing in a twisted sort of way to watch Pharinseaya get riled up. She definitely had his attention.

Pharinseaya put her hands on her hips. "Alright, fine. Keep your skills as they are without developing them. That's a side issue and I'm sorry I brought it up. Muac, do you need Azyra here to help guide us along in our quest?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I don't mind if she tags along. She is kinda cute and all."

Azyra did a pirouette, smirking as Pharinseaya frowned. Rym bit back a laugh - barely - the amusement at his comment clear in her eyes.

"Fine. Whatever," the Jedi Knight said. Looking back to Azyra, she said, "We're looking to meet with the Prophet. It is said he keeps his quarters down here. Do you know anything about that?"

"Only that he's not worth the credits he costs for a reading," the brown haired artist replied.

"Ditto that," Muac chimed in.

Pharinseaya nodded. "Yes, so we've heard. Would you be interested in traveling with us for a time? It might be useful to have a resourceful woman such as yourself in our company."

Rym smiled, sensing the power that fueled Azyra as well, the raw untrained Force powers the woman employed in her words and presence. She would be an asset, and like Rym too, perhaps there was a possibility of her choosing to train in the Jedi Arts.

Azyra shrugged. "I don't have anywhere I need to be immediately considering that the supplies I came to purchase were... unavailable anyway. I'll hang out with you for the time being."

"Very well then. Let's go. Muac? Lead the way."

He nodded and took the point position of their motley band. Azyra followed behind him, speaking to the security guard of various points of interest found in the lower levels, both alluring and intimidating. She seemed to certainly know her way around which surprised the Jedi; she seemed too well dressed and 'together' to belong in the Corscanti lower levels.

With only a quarter of an hour's walk, the team stopped in front of a boarded up storefront. It appeared that it had not been used in some time.

"Here we are..."

Pharinseaya and Rym both made faces. "Here?"

Muac nodded. "This is the address I was given."

"You don't have to stay with us if ya don't wanna," Rym said to Azyra. "We're here to see if this Prophet has the makings of a Jedi. But I dunno if this could get messy or what-not."

"I can hold my own," was her stoic reply.

Muac - as the former customer - took the lead in the exchange, knocking on the boarded-up doorway to signal their presence to whomever was inside waiting. The group waited several seconds before a voice on the other side said, "You seek he who knows all, who can foresee great and terrible things. State your business here."

"I seek another message from the Prophet," Muac replied steadily, "as my fortune has yet to be delivered to me."

Pharinseaya smiled, impressed with that response.

"The Prophet is not here right now," came the response through the door. "Even if he were, he is not pleased with your associates."

Rym and Pharinseaya exchanged glances. How could he be displeased with Muac's associates if he was not even there?

"May we wait for him?" Muac asked as politely as he could manage, irritated at the slight toward the Jedi and the artist.

"That is your choice, as always. But the Prophet is not pleased."

Rym shook her head and spoke up. "How can he be 'not pleased' with us if he ain't even here?"

Azyra flicked a gaze from one Jedi to the other and then to the security guard. "Fools. You, especially," she said to Muac. "The Prophet is not a 'he' at all. You can't tell me you didn't realize that Muac?"

Simultaneously, the trio snapped, "WHAT!"

Azyra let a smile play along her painted lips, clearly amused at the deception. "You came searching for a 'he' when the Prophet is female. How silly. Pharinseaya had it right from the beginning when she threatened me with the lightsaber for I AM the Prophet you seek."

Rym's jaw dropped, clearly shocked, despite having sensed the Force about the artist. Pharinseaya's eyes narrowed, studying the woman through the Force. Muac just stared.

"Are you a threat to us, Prophet Azyra?" Pharinseaya asked, regaining her equilibrium.

Azyra's smiled was fixed on her face. "That depends. To some, I am very much a threat. To others, I am not. What is your perception of me?"

Rym shook her head, recognizing the word puzzle as the very sorts that Master Skywalker would challenge her mind with on Yavin IV. What was the line of being a Jedi? Or not?

Pharinseaya matched the smile with one of her own. "Point taken. Well, you already realize our intentions in seeking you out. And we immediately recognized you as genuinely Force sensitive. You know why we are here. Are your thoughts the same as they were at the 'lift?"

Azyra shrugged loosely. "Now why would I want to go and become a Jedi, tell me that, when I have all the power I need and fools like Muac here will willingly PAY me for it?"

Muac started. "Hey now! I am standing here! You better watch your mouth, lady. I oughta"

"Muac!" Pharinseaya snapped. "That will be enough!"

"HEY!"

She fired him a look that would melt the snowy terrain of Hoth. Turning back to Azyra, Pharinseaya said, "I can appreciate your point of view, Azyra. I am sure in an economy such as the merchants face, it is difficult to earn enough credits to survive on. The Order meets our needs as Jedi so I am less affected by that. Haven't you"

Rym cut in, sensing what Pharinseaya was going to say. This would come better from her, she knew. "Haven't you ever thought to yerself that you were cut out to do more? I mean... I grew up bein' a mechanic on Corellia. A garage rat, ya know? Pharinseaya found me there and at first, whoo boy did we not get along. But with time, we worked that out. An' when she first offered to take me to the Jedi Academy, I spaced in a big way! But now... heh, I guess I know this is what was 'sposed to be my destiny."

Azyra nodded, pretending to listen. "That is all well and fine since that is your destiny, Jedi Svoby. Who are you both to say that that is also mine?"

"ButBut I'm down here on a mission to see if you will become a Jedi so I can earn my Knighthood!" Rym said in almost a whining tone.

Azyra's eyes widened. "You must be joking."

"She speaks the truth," Pharinseaya said. "Master Skywalker had heard rumors of the Prophet, Azyra, and asked Rym and I to travel here to seek you out in the hopes that yes, you would be Force sensitive and that you would also be interested in training. Rym faces her Jedi Trials with this mission."

"So? The way I look at this, you people, is that your mission was to seek me out. You did. Your mission was to proposition me with your Jedi ways. You did. The fact that I'm disclined to accept the offer means what in the face of her Trials? You did your jobs. Now, leave me be. I have my art and my work here. I don't need the solidarity of the Jedi Order on top of it," Azyra said firmly.

Rym looked crest-fallen. Pharinseaya's expression was more controlled though she felt as disappointed as her friend. Muac just looked put-off.

"Now wait a second," he said. "You gave me a bogus fortune, Prophet Azyra and I want my credits back!"

She cocked her head in his direction. "And how do you slice that one, exactly?"

Muac said, "You told me something 'big' was coming into my life. And I'm still a guard on a transport. How do you figure anything's coming?"

Azyra flashed him a genuine, knowing smile then looked from Muac's face to Pharinseaya's. She left it unspoken though her meaning was more than clear to them all. The guard and the Jedi Knight exchanged wide-eyed stares and Azyra laughed out loud.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I believe I was on my way to the upper levels for art supplies. I'm sure you can find your way back to the surface," Azyra said. Turning her back to them, she walked back to the lift without another word.

"Sithspit," Rym cursed, heedless of the sudden tension and energy between Pharinseaya and Muac. "Now I'll never be a Knight."

Pharinseaya whirled around to her Rym, leaving everything with Muac unspoken, she was so startled by the evident meaning of Azyra's fortune for him. "Rym, Azyra the Prophet was more or less right. We did complete our mission but we can't force anyone to the path we walk. I'm sure Master Skywalker will understand that..."

Rym sighed, hoping that the woman who'd been a semi-mentor to her was right. "I guess we jes' go back and find out..."

"I'll accompany you," Muac said immediately, startling them both.

"What?"

"I said that I'll accompany you back to Yavin IV. Maybe Azyra was right. Maybe you are the 'something big' that's come into my life... and I mean that only in terms of 'big' in terms of your Force power, Pharinseaya. I can't deny an interest in you any longer."

Pharinseaya gaped. "IWow. I don't know what to say about that right now, Muac, but if you want to travel with us to Yavin IV, if that makes your Bantha ride, so be it."


End file.
